Thirteen killed, 31 injured in California
tour bus crash
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[October 24, 2016]
By Sam Mircovich
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (Reuters) - A tour bus
crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer on a Southern California
highway before dawn on Sunday, killing 13 people and injuring 31,
authorities said.
The bus was traveling west on Interstate 10 when the crash occurred near
Palm Springs, a city about 100 miles (160 km) east of Los Angeles,
California Highway Patrol (CHP) Chief Jim Abele told reporters.
Abele said because of the bus' speed, the truck's trailer pushed about
15 feet into the bus. The bus driver was among the 13 killed, he said.
Abele said he believed the 31 injured passengers had minor to moderate
injuries, but some could be worse.
"In almost 35 years I've never been to a crash where there's been 13
confirmed," deaths, Abele said. "So it's tough. It's tough for all of
us."
Abele said the bus had been inspected as recently as April and there was
no indication of mechanical problems. He said several survivors reported
most of the passengers, all of whom were adults, were sleeping at the
time of the crash.
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Photographs from the scene showed the front of the tour bus wedged
inside the back of the trailer, with emergency workers using metal
ladders to reach the inside of the bus.
The injured were being treated at hospitals while all westbound lanes of
the interstate were closed near the crash, officials said. Abele said
the lanes would likely be reopened around 4 p.m.
Abele said the bus appeared to be ferrying casino-goers back to Los
Angeles from the Red Earth Casino after a night of gambling.
The Los Angeles-area bus company, USA Holiday Bus, could not immediately
be reached for comment. The local Desert Sun newspaper reported the
driver was one of the company's owners.
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![](../images/102416pics/news_c5.jpg)
Workers cut away debris from the front of a bus involved in a mass
casualty crash on the westbound Interstate 10 freeway near Palm
Springs, California October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Sam Mircovich
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_090916.png)
Abele said USA Holiday appeared to be an "owner-operator" company
and that the totaled bus was the only one owned.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it will investigate
the crash and is sending an investigative team to the site.
Abele said it was not immediately clear if alcohol, drugs or fatigue
was a factor in the crash. He said it was not clear whether the bus
was speeding, but said it was traveling "significantly faster" than
the tractor-trailer.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco, David Ingram in New
York, and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Bill Trott and
Sandra Maler)
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